A check with other Congressmen around the state showed others
have not had t heir mail held and have been receiving it regularly.
But a spokesman for Frelinghuysen said the Congressman is being
particularly conservative in having the mail held pending screening
for anthrax.

"He cares about his staff," the spokesman, Mark Broadhurst, said
on Monday. " This is a very public office and constituents are
coming in and out all the time ."

Frelinghuysen issued a statement on Oct. 26 urging constituents
to send all correspondence via fax at (202) 225-3185 in Washington
or (973) 292-1563 to the district office in Morristown.
Communications also can be sent by e-mail to
rodney.frelinghuysen@mail.house.gov.

Broadhurst said the congressman receives as many as several
hundred pieces of mail a day, totaling as many as 5,000 items since
Oct. 15.

All mail deliveries to Washington offices have remained halted
after the discovery on Oct. 15 of an anthrax-laced letter sent to a
federal official. A second letter among mail that was subsequently
quarantined was discovered last weekend an d addressed to Rep.
Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

The first letter was discovered in the office of Senate Majority
Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., and contained a highly refined form of
anthrax that investigators s aid could have seeped out of the
letter and contaminated other mail.

Traces of anthrax were subsequently discovered in the offices of
three federal officials in the Longworth House Office Building,
including the office of Rep. Rush Holt, D-12.

A total of 17 people have been infected with anthrax nationwide,
resulting in four deaths. A total of seven have confirmed or
suspected cases in New Jersey. Only one was not a postal worker and
authorities said the most recent infection beg an Oct.
17.

Frelinghuysen Clean

All Washington offices were checked for anthrax traces and none
were found in Frelinghuysen's office in the Rayburn House Office
Building, according to the Broadhurst.

The anthrax-laced letter to Daschle's office was traced to a
postal facility in Hamilton. Two other anthrax-tainted letters were
postmarked at the plant and sent to NBC Anchor Tom Brokaw and the
New York Post.

Hundreds of thousands of pieces of mail have been locked inside
the Hamilton facility since Oct. 18 when investigators determined
the letters were postmarked at the plant. The mail was transferred
to a plant in South Jersey last week to be irradiated but officials
did not know when the mail would be released and
delivered.

Frelinghuysen said in a statement that his mail has been
quarantined "for the indefinite future" at the Washington and
district offices. Broadhurst said all m ail to federal offices in
the capitol has been stockpiled but that he didn't know if district
offices around the nation were following the same steps.

Broadhurst said all mail to Frelinghuysen's D.C. and district
offices will be read after it is irradiated at some unspecified
date.

"Because of anthrax incidents at New Jersey postal facilities
and security concerns at members' district offices, mail delivery
has been suspended to the district office as well," the statement
said. "Until mail delivery resumes, I would also suggest that you
continue to call, fax or e-mail me with your concerns. As always, I
will respond to your concerns as expeditiously as
possible."

The offices of several Congressmen said they have been receiving
their mail regularly.

"We get our mail daily," said a spokesman for Rep. Donald M.
Payne, D-10, in Newrk.

Mail was delayed for several days last month but quickly resumed
at the Paterson office of Rep. William Pascrell Jr., D-8.

"We held it aside for a few days and then opened it," said a
Pascrell spokesman. "We're getting it regularly."

Mail also has been received without interruptions at the Union
City office of Rep. Robert Menendez, D-13.

"There have been slight delays due to security procedures but no
interruptions, " said a Menendez spokeswoman.

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